Editorial
Sandra Gil be rt Managing Editor
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As I brow se th e forum s, th e one q ue stion I ofte n se e popping up from ne w com e rs, is al w ays som e variation of “W h at is th e be st w ay/m e th od/te ch niq ue to m ode l. . . (inse rt re l e vant obje ct h e re )?O r e ve n m ore ge ne ric q ue stion l ik e “W h at is th e be st w ay to m ode l ?” I re m e m be r m y ow n frustration in finding th e pe rfe ct answ e r to th at q ue stion and sym path iz e w ith ne w com e rs w h o are curre ntl y trying to find th e pe rfe ct m e th od and w ork fl ow . Th e sh ort answ e r is . . . “w h ate ve r m e th od w ork s be st for your purpose and pe rsonal w ork fl ow ” Not re alh e l pful , now is it?Unfortunate l y, th e l ong answ e r is not m uch be tte r. Th e re ason be ing th at is tim e , e xpe rie nce and m assive e xpe rim e ntation is ge ne ral l y re q uire d in orde r to de cide on an obje ct by obje ct basis w h ich
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m e th od w ork s be st for you. Not e xactl y som e th ing a ne w com e r w ants to h e ar. W el lin th is issue w e w il lsh e d a l ittl e l igh t on w h ich te ch niq ue s to use and w h e n, k e e ping in m ind th at anyth ing can be cre ate d using any of th e te ch niq ue s avail abl e in Bl e nde r, but som e te ch niq ue s l e nd th e m se l ve s m ore re adil y to ce rtain type s of m ode l s. And w h il e th is is obviousl y h el pful to th e ne w com e r, e ve n th e m ore e xpe rie nce d am ong us w il lbe ne fit from be ing re m inde d th at th e re is al w ays m ore th an one w ay to m ode lan obje ct. As m uch as w e re l y on favorite m ode l ing te ch niq ue s, w e ofte n find som e task s are e ith e r too daunting, re pe titive or just a pain to com pl e te m anual l y. Ente r Pyth on scripts to th e re scue . Pyth on scripts al l ow
gre ate r fl e xibil ity and add use fulfunctions and fe ature s to th e Bl e nde r w ork fl ow . Th is issue w e w il le xpl ore som e of th e se w onde rfull ittl e scripts and sh ow just h ow th e y can m ak e your l ife e asie r. sandy@ bl e nde rart.org